Raising the Bar: State Bar Team Makes Final Four at State

Every year, over 170 schools across the great state of Texas send approximately 2,000+ students to participate in the Annual Texas High School Mock Trial Competition. Each school picks their best students to form one team. This year, the Law Magnet sent eight seniors: Sukhmani (Sukhi) Nijjar, Chloe Hawkins, Hannah Estrada, Elizabeth Bell, Jiashuo (Moon) Liu, Neil Bhate, Morgan Van Arsdall, and Abygail Vargas to represent the school.

The preparation for their competition began in October, and the team, with the help of head coach Mr. Gonzalez, attorney coach Hailey Anne Moore (affectionately known as “Big Mama HAM”), and alumnus and attorney coach Traelon Rodgers. While balancing other extracurriculars, college applications, AP classes, and the stress of their senior years, the team dedicated themselves to one common goal: making the Final Four at the State Bar State competition (something the team had not accomplished since 2021). They stayed until 8 pm after school every other day to practice, worked on weekends and over breaks, and traveled for scrimmages to ensure they were the best they could be.

Their first round of competition began in late January and bled into early February in the DISD State Bar regional competition. Through 6 intense rounds over the course of 2 weeks, the team placed in the top 3 out of the 25 total teams—qualifying them to the state competition.

Earlier this month, while all the other Law Magnet seniors came down with some mystery ailment, these eight seniors skipped school to go to the George Allen Courthouse where the 46th Annual State Bar State Competition was held. After four grueling rounds, hitting competitive teams, being evaluated by real-life judges, attorneys, and law students, the Law Magnet team attended the State luncheon with high stakes and palpable stress. It was then, they learned they were the only team from DISD to advance to the Final Four (the top four teams in the entire state) and that attorneys Sukhmani (Sukhi) Nijjar and Chloe Hawkins were nominated for the State Best Advocate Award. They also found out that Natalie Munoz (Junior) was awarded 1st place at the State Competition for Courtroom Art and will be advancing to nationals—making history!

In the semi-final round, they faced Frisco CTE (State Champions for 2025 and State Runner-Ups from ’22, ’23, & ’24). It was a challenging round judged by nine evaluators. In the end, the Law Magnet team narrowly lost in a close 5-4 decision. Of the losing ballots, two were by just 1 point, and one was by 2 points. Despite the loss, the Law Magnet State Bar team achieved an impressive feat and put up a tremendous fight. When asked about the team’s success, the coaches were beaming with pride.

“I am very proud of the work ethic, responsibility, and professionalism that the team exhibited in achieving third place at State. I know all 8 team members will go on to do amazing things in whatever field they decide to pursue. I encourage the incoming State team to take note of the 2024-2025 team and continue a legacy of excellence,” said attorney coach Hailey Anne Moore.

Echoing her, head coach Mr. Gonzalez said “I am proud of the team for demonstrating resilience throughout the process—dare I say they had grit. This win was truly a team effort. We had great support from our attorney coach, Hailey Moore. We had additional help from alumni, including recently licensed attorney Traelon Rodgers, who was a member of the first team to make the Final Four. Full circle, that’s what the Law Magnet is all about.”

Attorney coach and alumnus, Traelon Rodgers commented, “This third-place achievement represents the culmination of four years of dedicated effort by these students. I am incredibly proud of their hard work, dedication, and unwavering commitment to excellence. I have no doubt that these eight individuals will go on to become world leaders and innovators in the years to come.”

The pride was evident in the students that competed. When asked about their win, Hannah Estrada said, “I kept my head up, my bread up, and I didn’t let up.” Another team member named Abygail Vargas contributed by saying, “It was one of the nerdiest things I have ever done.” Morgan Van Arsdall added, “[I’m] grateful that mock trial gave me an outlet to judge people.”

Many members felt like it was a dream coming true, as Elizabeth Bell, said, “Making it to the Final Four feels like a dream come true, especially after so many years of teams before us who worked hard for this moment. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to share this win with. I guess you could say, ‘we got hard!’” (a phrase that attorney coach Traelon coined from the movie Get Hard and that became a motto for the team, meaning toughen up and be better.) This sentiment was shared by Chloe Hawkins, who exclaimed, “This has been a goal of mine that didn’t seem very attainable to my younger self, yet it was something I accomplished because I let go and let the love, support, and trust that I had for my teammates motivate me instead of fear. Because of my teammates and coaches, I have not only won 3rd place in a mock trial competition, I won in life!”

Others noted that there were many obstacles, but they were proud that the team persevered, as Neil Bhate commented, “There were many highs and lows, but when the moments were greatest, we came together as a team.” Jiashuo (Moon) Liu shared, “The competition was full of ups and downs. But even when we made mistakes, we remained ever dedicated to self-improvement, and our team was unified in the goal of making the final-four. In the semifinal round, our team’s harmony made me gain a newfound appreciation for the depth and breadth of each of my teammate’s talents. Overall, it was a satisfactory culmination of my high school mock trial career.”

“I am just so thankful. Thankful for Mr. G for being there for us in and outside of the courtroom. Thankful for Big Mama HAM for coaching us, buying us dinner every practice, and being a constant source of support and guidance. Thankful for Traelon for humbling us and making us the best versions of ourselves. Thankful for my team that came to every practice, even though they were tired of being at school from 8 am to 8 pm every other day. And, thankful for Mrs. Van Arsdall for feeding us. There were many obstacles, last minute changes, crashouts (mostly from me), but throughout it all we were strong. Nothing can recreate the pure exhilaration I felt competing—there was no anxiety or hesitation, I was just doing the thing I love the most with the people I love the most.” shared team captain Sukhmani (Sukhi) Nijjar.

As these eight seniors prepare to graduate and move on to their future endeavors, they leave behind a legacy that future teams can build upon. The 2024-2025 State Bar team continues to raise the bar higher, demonstrating that the Law Magnet program continues to produce some of the finest young legal minds in Texas.